Freezing Greens + Award Things

I’m pretty sure that the reason it’s been in the 70s and 80s here lately is because I bought a fantastic grey wool coat at a thrift store last week. It seems brand new, fits perfectly, and was only 12 bucks. The only downside? The forecast is just an unending streak of warm weather, even though it’s February. :(

And here is where I remind you of the 100 degree summers we have to look forward to in south Texas. Don’t hate!

With spring on its way (maybe here sooner than other places), you might want to cherish your winter greens. Here’s a tip I learned via a comment by ollie.oranges from this recipe. If you’ve got a lot of greens that you’re not able to use up before going bad (or if wanting to stockpile), you can freeze them! I mean, it seems obvious, but I hadn’t thought of it, and am never quick enough to use them all up.

First wash ’em. I’ve got some lacinato/dinosaur kale.

Now remove the ribs and cut the leaves into smaller pieces.

If you have a salad spinner like my roommates, throw the pieces in there and spin the heck out of them. If not, you can spread them out and let them air dry, or blot them well with a towel.

Put them in a freezer bag, then press out the air. When you’re ready to use them, just throw the amount you need into whatever (soups, stews, stir-fries, etc.) without thawing.

I most often throw kale and/or spinach into smoothies, so it’s perfect having some frozen! With the kale, it saves a lot of time and dishes to have it already cut.

Today’s smoothie was similar to my TropiKale one, but with the addition of guava and frozen peaches and mango. YUM.

That grass is for real, as was the smoothie.

Now, some very nice fellow bloggers have deemed my little blog worthy of a couple of awards which I’ve been meaning to post about for awhile. See, you’re supposed to a) acknowledge who gave you the awards, b) pass them on to other blogs that you like, and c) share 7 things about yourself. (This reminds me a bit of those chain letter emails from back in the day, minus the “or else” bit. :))

a) So…I’ve received the Stylish Blogger Award from Victoria of The District Chocoholic and Anula of Anula’s Kitchen, and the One Lovely Blog Award from Alex of Dear Love Blog. Thanks again so much, ladies! If you’re not them, you should check out their stylish, lovely blogs.

b) This part makes me slightly uncomfortable because I think every blog I read is stylish and lovely, so I might as well just point to my links. However, many have already received these awards, so here are a few that I think haven’t and aren’t, like, Pioneer Woman (though wouldn’t it be hilarious if I gave her one? XD):

c) And then there’s this part. Oy! Okay, these are things that should be news to those of you who only know me through my blog…which is most of you:

1. I have a cat named Monkey. She chirps, especially when I unpack my viola, and likes to sit on my back whenever the opportunity arises. An avid supporter of belly rubs, she is perfect in the car and would have a ton of frequent flier miles if kittehs could acquire them. ♥

2. When I was five, my parents wanted me to start taking piano lessons because they were tired of my random banging on the keys. The teacher they contacted didn’t want to teach me because I hadn’t learned how to read yet (I realize that is probably crazy late nowadays), but she took me anyway. As a result, I learned how to read music before words.

3. My parents are brunettes (now greyish), my sister is a blonde, and I’m a redhead (technically strawberry blonde). For the 2004 US presidential election, my parents voted for Bush, my sister voted for Nader, and I voted for Kerry. I make random, meaningless connections like that.

4. One of my earliest memories was watching the moon as I was being driven to the ER while clutching my yellow blanket. Once there, I saw a big map of Texas, and then was surrounded by doctors who were trying to shove a tube down my throat. Why? I had a “tea party” while I was supposed to have been napping and ended up downing two bottles of cough syrup. What a good 3 year old!

5. I am extremely shy. Once I get to know people, I open up, but small talk isn’t my thing. Oh, and half the time people can’t hear what I’m saying, including my best friends. So yeah, typing is good.

6. Sometimes I get randomly crafty. For example, I have sewn together three quilts. The first two were group quilts for Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement with squares made by fans of Flight of the Conchords (I made one square for each…good luck guessing which ones).

Your quilts are gorgeous! Between playing the viola, being a baking extraordinaire, and a quilting master, you’ve got quite the talents to juggle! And I LOVE playing balderdash (as well as Scattergories!)

So how ’bout that Daring Bakers’ challenge for this month? I still haven’t started…considering posting is tomorrow, I think I’d better get started this afternoon!

Elle Marie – Well, Texas is generally mild in the winter, but gets cold snaps every now and then. At the beginning of this month, it was in the 20-30F range, which is unusual!

Jill – I almost said that having to repeat myself sometimes multiple times is a recurring theme with everyone. And actually, that title would also be totes appropes.

Kylie – Thanks! There actually isn’t much juggling involved since I don’t quilt normally, but I do have to make baking/practicing decisions at times. ;) I’ve only done one part of the DB challenge so far and need to get cracking on the other today! So far, it’s very delicious. :)

Jessica,
I just found your blog and am really enjoying it (I’m a bit of a foodie blog addict, although I’m new to blogging myself). I was wondering, do you know if you could freeze baby spinach? My fiance loves to buy it fresh for salads, but we can never seem to finish it before it goes bad…

I’m so honored! Thanks so much! And great tip on the greens. I’m with ya on not thinking of this right off though. I could have saved a lot of greens by freezing what was in my garden when we got a freeze, but didn’t really think of this option! Congrats to you and thanks for the tip.